


"You aren't real.."

by BuckysDoll



Category: Captain America (Movies)
Genre: 1940’s bucky, Bucky and steve are museum exhibits that come to life, F/M, Kinda, Night At the Museum AU, Slow Burn, again kinda, but again its still an au so throw logic out the window, implied sex, it's slow to start so go easy on me, later tho, nothing to do with the NATM movies though, set before Cap is found in ice, set before The Avengers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-02
Updated: 2018-07-14
Packaged: 2019-04-17 09:14:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 17,330
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14185719
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BuckysDoll/pseuds/BuckysDoll
Summary: What would you do if the love of your life was a mannequin in a museum? What would you do knowing that your soul mate is made of wax?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Things to keep in mind:  
> This is an AU, meaning: throw logic out the window.  
> Does it have anything to do with Night at the Museum? No. Is it just taking a concept from it? Yes.  
> Where's the tablet of Ahkmenrah to make the exhibits come to life? Doesn’t exist in this universe, again, the only idea I really took from night at the museum was that the exhibits came to life. In this fic every museum comes to life, tablet or no tablet.  
> Wheres the night guards in this? Probably asleep in the security booths in the basement, don’t think about them too hard.  
> What’s with the occasional plot hole and/or spelling/grammatical error? This isn’t beta’d.  
> What museum are they in? Just a random one, though I always had the Royal Museum of BC in mind.  
> Where’s the /real/ steve and Bucky? This is set before the Avengers.

The rain fell in sheets against the street, an overall miserable day in Late March. Charlotte huffed and puffed as she raced up the sleek steps, shielding her eyes from the rain. The lights of the museum’s office were bright in the grey toned outside, and Charlotte ripped open the front door as fast as she cool, relief flooding her face as she felt the warmth of the heaters. Her hair was just drenched, the normal boring brown color darker than usual. Charlotte blinked, her eyes adjusting to the inside of the museum lobby. 

It was bright and inviting, despite how bad the weather was outside. A few people lingered around, some walking towards the gift shop, others looking at the exhibits just inside the main doors to the museum. An older woman with just greying hair sat behind the main receptionist desk, a curious smile to her as she looked up at the soaked Charlotte. 

“Raining quite badly is it?” She called from across the lobby, taking Charlotte by surprise. The young woman nodded, a tad bit startled if anything else. She walked forward towards the desk, shrugging her backpack off her shoulders and digging around for her wallet.  
“Um.. I.. one ticket for the ...um.. Museum please?” She said quietly. The lady grinned and pressed a few keys on the computer. 

“We’re about an hour of closing,dear, you know that right?” She said, handing Charlotte the ticket stub. Charlotte nodded, her wet curls bouncing as they started to dry.  
“I know...I just.. Really wanted to see the exhibits.” She said with a slight smile, as if that were an explanation as to why she got here an hour before the museum closed. The lady smiled again, another.. Knowing smile. 

“You have fun, okay, museums can be such a big adventure.” She said, as charlotte sort of backed away to walk over to the exhibit. 

Charlotte just smiled, the desk lady turning to go back to work. Spinning around, Charlotte nearly collided with a banner, Captain Steve Roger’s face printed on the front. An advertisement for the new Captain America exhibit. She squeaked and bounced out of the way, bright red and hoping no one saw that. A few steps into the museum and Charlotte was almost instantly at ease, despite the time constraints she knew she had. There was just.. Something about museums that she loved. She wasn’t completely alone, a few elderly couples and their grandchildren walking around and reading the exhibits. The air smelled of old exhibits that haven’t been touched in years, and that the smell of floor cleaner. The room she was in was just.. Beautiful. It was a replica of the northern west coast forests, taxidermied deer stood alert between the fiberglass trees. A mountain lion and a bear stood in close proximity, both looking hungry somehow through their glass eyes. Charlotte side stepped away from being too close to them. She knew they were fake, but that didn’t meant they didn’t creep her out. 

The newest exhibit’s entrance was just a few feet ahead of her, it definitely stood out.What went form being green and lush forests turned into red white and blue banners everywhere. The Captain America exhibit. A new edition to this museum, Charlotte was surprised it wasn’t more popular. It was nearly empty, It could be because it’s an hour till closing, she thought. The lights lit up the panels filled with information brightly, causing Charlotte to squint. Something drew her into reading every word she could, learning all about how the Soldier saved and inspired so many people. She was almost a little sad to learn so much about him, she knew how this story would end, everyone did. Captain America put his plane into the ocean, and he was never found. Charlotte frowned, having grown so attached to reading about the man. She looked towards the end of the exhibit, towards a group of mannequins that bore the costumes of Cap and the commandos. The mannequins that were on display were by far the most amazing things Charlotte had seen. They were incredibly realistic, almost eerily realistic, Charlotte thought with a giggle. Maybe they were on loan from Madame tussauds, she thought. Captain America was with his shield, his friend James beside him. Another tragedy, Charlotte though, remembering reading that He would pass on the same year as Steve. 

As Charlotte walked through the rest of the museum, her eyelids began to grow heavy. Her feet began to drag and walking each step caused sharp pains in them. Charlotte sighed and flopped down onto a bench in the corner of a beach mammal exhibit. It was tucked out of the way and in a corner. Charlotte sighed, looking around happily. She would live here if she could, she loved it here so much. Before she knew it, her eyelids slid shut, her breathing evened out, and soon she was fast asleep in the middle of a museum. 

 

Charlotte didn’t know how long she was out for, but she swore she had the strangest dream. She was still at the museum, but none of the exhibits were there. The animals were missing from their forests, the mannequins were gone too. Charlotte shook her head, attempting to wake herself up. The museum must be closing soon, she thought, better leave. She fished in her pocket for her phone, pressing the home button on it to get the time. She frowned. The battery had died. 

“Just great..” she mumbled out loud. She slowly stood up and stretched, still in a bit of a daze from her nap. Still so sleepy, Charlotte didn’t even notice that the exhibit behind her that once held a giant elephant seal on a rock.. Was now empty. The museum had gotten much colder now, the heating turned off. Odd, Charlotte thought. Maybe it was to save money? She shrugged to herself. It wasn’t until when Charlotte walked through the forested area again when she noticed something was different...wrong. The deer were.. Gone. The bear and the mountain lion were gone as well. Charlotte shuddered, rubbing her eyes. Something wasn’t right. She turned and started walking towards the lobby, faster than her sleepy pace she had. 

“I don’t know any museum to take down their exhibits at night..” she muttered, looking around the lobby. It was empty too, no desk lady or any people in sight. Charlotte begun to panic.  
“Okay...okay.. There's an explanation for this..” she said out loud, trying to calm herself down. A crashing sound behind her made nearly jump out of her skin, spinning around to face whatever it was. Her heart dropped into her stomach. 

Charlotte was face to face with a mountain lion. The one from the museum exhibit. 

The cat was low to the ground, sniffing the air and eyeing the human. Charlotte stood stock still, her heart racing. Slowly, she took her backpack off, letting it fall to the ground with a thump. If she had to run, that wouldn’t slow her down at least. The cat let out out a snarling growl, causing Charlotte to take a slow step back. The distant sound of what sounded like a bear growling made her stop. 

“I’m still dreaming. I’m still dreaming. Wake up, Char, wake up…” she mumbled to herself, rubbing her eyes. The cat took a step forward, its hind legs getting underneath its body, ready to pounce. Charlotte closed her eyes and winced, bracing for a cougar to jump on her and her body to jolt awake, but it never came. Instead, the sound of metal hitting a body filled her eyes, causing her eyes to snap open. The cat wasn’t in front of her, but in the corner of the lobby, with Captain America’s shield resting beside it.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really apologize for my writing and if it might be all over the place, I'm really trying to get back into the swing of things. Also I apologize that its been a week since my last chapter! Its slow to start but I promise good things in later chapters.

If Charlotte could scream, she would, very very loudly. In truth she was just too scared to scream at the moment. A freaking mountain lion was laying in the corner of the lobby, with Captain America’s shield laying next to it. This dream was too realistic. Charlotte looked up, eyes wide as saucers in fear. Captain America was standing in the entrance to the exhibits. Charlotte took another small step back, still rubbing her eyes to try and get her to wake up. Steve Rogers. In the flesh. But he’s dead, Charlotte thought. Steve looked up to her, a look of shock crossing his own features. 

“Ma’am are you alri-” He didn’t have time to finish before Charlotte had turned and bolted to the door, leaving her backpack in the middle of the lobby. Screw the bag, she thought, a dead person just talked to me. Charlotte sprinted for the door, slamming herself into it and repeatedly trying to open it. The door, however, would not budge. Charlotte tried again and again, looking over her shoulder to the rather large man approaching, his hands raised in surrender. She pushed again on the door, swearing under her breath. The door wouldn’t move. The footsteps behind her grew nearer as Charlotte spun around, out of breath and wide eyed. Steve Rogers was there, in front of her. He still had his hands raised, to show no threat. 

“Ma’am, I’m afraid those doors won’t open until morning..” He trailed off, a look of apology on his face. Charlotte couldn’t help but start to hyperventilate, looking to her left and right to find a possible exit from away what she assumed was a dead man walking. Steve took a step back, clearly seeing that she was panicking. 

“It’s okay.. I’m not going to hurt you.” He paused. “My name is Steven Rogers..I just want to help.” His voice was not at all what she expected it to sound like. Charlotte pressed her body up against the locked, cold door.  
“You’re Captain America..” She sputtered out, before turning her head slightly to look past Steve. There were more.. People? More of those freaky realistic people in all sorts of clothing of the past. “I need to wake up...I’m dreaming..that's all..” she muttered, rubbing her eyes. Charlotte slid along the door to the floor, her mind racing a mile a minute. She was locked in the museum..with talking exhibits? It didn’t seem to be real, it couldn’t be real. 

Steve Rogers, freaking Captain America, was only a few feet away from her when the sound of an animalistic snarl echoed through the museum lobby. Charlotte snapped her head in the direction of the once stuffed cougar, now crouched and posed to attack. Steve straightened out his back and stood to his full, impressive height.  
“Back off, I’m warning you.” He said with a deep, commanding voice. The cat gave him a look, before looking back to Charlotte. Another snarl and the cat slinked off, crossing the lobby and entering another part of the museum. Steve walked over and picked up his shield, slinging it onto his back with a ‘click’. Charlotte still sat numbly by the door. She pushed up a coat sleeve and pinched at her skin, the sharp sting only confirming that she wasn’t dreaming. A few more strides and Steve was in front of her, leaning down onto one knee and looking down at her on the cold floor.  
“Are you alright..?” He asked, his voice low and quiet, trying not to spook her more. Charlotte stared back at him. If he really was that mannequin he was.. Freakishly realistic. No seams or signs he was wax anywhere. And he talked, so there's that. Charlotte gave a sharp nod, red curls bouncing. 

“I’m.. locked inside a museum..and talking to a dead guy..I’m.. alright.” She said, glancing back at the other people still staring at her from the entrance. With a shudder, she realized some of them didn’t have faces. Steve offered her his hand, the leather of his uniform making sounds. Charlotte gently placed her hand into his, letting him hoist her up onto her feet effortlessly. Steve chuckled, looking her over. 

“You don’t seem hurt, that cat can be nasty even on the good days.” He said, letting her hand go and taking a few steps back. Charlotte looked around, her bag still on the floor, the faceless people starting to wander off. To where, Charlotte didnt know.

“What’s...what’s going on..?” She murmured, her mind still racing of what exactly was happening. Steve looked down at his feet, shifting them awkwardly.  
“About the…?”  
“About the fake.. Things suddenly coming to life?” Charlotte said, raising her voice a little. Steve nodded. The sound of little hooves clicking across the lobby floor made Charlotte look up. A herd of deer, the ones she saw earlier, were calmly walking by. Going about their day. Charlotte took a step back, wanting more than anything to race back to the door. 

“How do I explain this…” He paused. “At night, the doors lock. No one comes in, no one goes out. We…” Another paused, he gestured to the rest of the museum behind him. “Sort of.. Wake up when the museum is locked at night.” He stopped talking, to let Charlotte process what he said. Charlotte was still convinced she was dreaming. 

“This is.. A lot..” She trailed off, still looking around. Steve looked back to the way he came.  
“You should come back, with me. Come rest a little, meet the rest of the guys. They’re better at explaining this than I am.” He said, with a lopsided grin. Charlotte nodded, looking over to her bag and taking a few steps to scoop it up. The bag only fell back to the floor, a very clearly broken strap now lying flat on the floor.  
“Shit..” Char mumbled, picking the bag back up again. It must have broken in her attempt to run away from the freaking large cat trying to kill her.  
“Language!” Was all Steve said as he started walking away. 

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The heating in the museum was very clearly off, Charlotte tugging her coat around her tighter. Everything about the museum was still the same, just.. Empty exhibits. Mannequins with no faces walked around, bowing or curtseying towards Steve. They gave Charlotte some looks, as much as they could without any facial features. Steve just hummed. 

“We don’t get many...outside visitors.” He explained, “...sometimes a janitor or two staying late but other than that...you’re pretty special.” He grinned. Charlotte huffed. How lucky I am, she thought. They walked past a diorama, a horse grazing lazily in a fenced in pen. It looked up and flicked it’s tail. The air had suddenly taken a dramatic dip in temperature as they got closer to Steve’s little section. The replica snowy mountain causing the air to feel like a refrigerator. Charlotte looked around, not much of this exhibit was different. Costumes and artifacts were still in their places, articles on the walls were still there. The only difference that Charlotte could tell was the mannequins that were once stood on the little ‘mountain’ were gone. Well.. in different positions. No longer charging into battle, but laying down or sitting on rocks. Steve led Charlotte into the exhibit, stopping after to close the extra security gate. He gave a shy little glance over to Charlotte. 

“No big cats can bother you now.” He grinned. Charlotte gave a tiny fraction of a smile. 

“Thank you.” She said, Steve shrugged. 

“Don’t mention it, let me introduce you to the guys.” He said, walking closer to the group. A few looked up, only to double take at the sight of Charlotte. 

“Hey guys, brought a friend!” He chirped, gesturing towards the young woman behind him. Charlotte recognized the group as the Howling Commandos, the group that Captain America fought with. They stayed silent, confused probably. One, however, didn’t even bothering looking up. He stayed layed down on the side of the diorama, an arm and leg draped off the side. 

“Look alive, Buck.” Steve called out, causing the man to look up. That was most definitely Bucky Barnes, Steve Rogers best friend. Charlotte could feel all the faces staring at her, her cheeks turning bright red. She looked down to the floor, while Steve stood beside her. 

“This is….I don’t know your name.” He looked at her, mortified that he hadn’t introduced himself.  
“I’m terribly sorry.. I never got your name..” Charlotte shrugged and rubbed the back of her neck, wanting nothing more than to not be the center of attention at the moment.  
“Charlotte.” She said quietly. Steve nodded.  
“This is Charlotte, she’s in here for the night.” A few hums and nods, some going back to their business of doing nothing. Steve looked around. 

“I’m afraid there isn’t.. Much to do. Not here anyways. You can set your stuff down anywhere.” He said, watching as Bucky walked over to him. Bucky mumbled some stuff near Steve’s ear, out of earshot of Charlotte. Charlotte stared at her bag, figuring out ways she could salvage her bag strap. 

“You need a hand with that?” Came a new voice. Bucky’s. Charlotte spun around, wide eye and still a bit skittish from this whole mess. Bucky held up his hands in mock surrender.  
“Easy there doll, ain’t gonna hurt you.” His smirk was audible in his voice. Charlotte nodded, still a bit shaky. She looked at her bag.  
“It was pretty old..must have torn when I was running away from that.. Cougar..” she trailed off, picking at the fabric of the strap. Bucky let out a laugh.  
“You took on that old fleabag by yourself? Impressive.” He reached out for the bag, examining the ripped strap. He took the torn edges, and began to tie them together. Charlotte frowned.  
“Not like I had a choice on the matter..” She said with a small pout. Bucky laughed again.  
“How’d you get stuck in this place anyways? You don’t look like you work here.” He said, finishing tying the strap and testing it out to make sure it’ll hold. Charlotte looked down.  
“I..uh.. Fell asleep.. On a bench.” Bucky just smiled.  
“Well that.. Is a first.” He said, handing back her bag. Charlotte took it and set it down, gently.  
“Thank you..” She started, Bucky shrugged.  
“Gives me something to do in this boring place.” Charlotte only then got to have a really good look at him. 

The diorama was supposed to replicate a time when Cap and his howling commandos were marching into battle. The men looked rugged and battle worn. Bucky had a nice little bout of stubble peppering his cheeks. A few dirt patches here and there that looked to be permanently etched on the skin. She could get a better look at the signs that he wasn’t fully human, but it was so subtle. She was torn out of her staring session when Bucky cleared his throat, a smirk spreading across his lips. 

“Like what you see?” Charlotte looked up, a blush spreading across her skin.  
“What?”  
“You’re staring.” Bucky said, leaning onto the nearest wall, his arms crossed. Charlotte averted her eyes quickly.  
“Oh! Oh no.. it's just.. You look..really good..” She paused, realizing what she had said. “You look great for a..fake..person? For being..not real?” Charlotte could cringe at her own words. Bucky laughed, looking down at his shoes as he did.  
“I’m talking to you aren’t I? Makes me real.” His grin was just unbearable, Charlotte thought. He had teeth and a tongue, how realistic did the museum make these guys? Charlotte shook her head, both to try and get her to stop staring again, but to reply to him.  
“You’re a part of a diorama. I saw you and Captain America both up there just a few hours ago.. Not moving.” Bucky looked up at the now empty mountain top, lights pointed at it. 

“Yeah, well..I’m real right now.” He paused to look over his shoulder at Steve, who had gone off to talk to another commando.  
“No point in standing around, yeah? Make yourself at home.. You’re here for a while.” He gave her a sad, sympathetic smile. Charlotte furrowed her eyebrow.  
“What do you mean?” She said, taking a few steps toward him. Maybe too close. She really could feel the height difference now. He was a whopping 6 feet while Charlotte was.. Small for her age. He looked down at her, like a child, which didn’t help Charlotte’s attitude.  
“You can’t leave. Not until the museum opens at least.” Charlotte did the math, remembering the museum didn’t open until 8 am the next morning. She swallowed. 

“Oh.” was all she said. Bucky smiled again, something that gave her a bit of reassurance.  
“Relax, it’s not like you’re alone in here. You got us...complete strangers. Shit, I pulled a Steve, didn’t I? James Buchanan Barnes, Sergeant of the 107th, at your service.” He offered his hand to her, only to flip her hand around and kiss her knuckles as soon as she stretched hers out. Charlotte suddenly felt very warm. 

“I’m-”  
“Charlotte, I know.”  
“Right.” 

Maybe this wouldn’t be so bad after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's short again, my apologies!


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so so sorry for the lack of updates! I got a job and I've been so stressed and I'm hoping that writing will help me through this tough time.

You would be amazing on how boring a museum can get when you’re trapped in one small section of it. Charlotte had already tried the emergency exit doors hidden behind a wall of text on Steve Roger’s many illnesses. Locked shut. She could hear the distant sound of cars driving by on the street if she pressed her ear against the cold door. She glanced around a bit, wondering if banging on the door loud enough would help her situation. Everyone else, Steve and Bucky and the rest of the commandos, seemed to be going about their normal day, taking time to glance quickly at the new stranger. Bucky seemed to stare longer than anyone else, only to get interupted or caught by Steve. 

Charlotte had sat against the metal door for what felt like an hour, drifting in and out of sleep, when she had felt someone lightly shake her. Her eyes snapped open immediately, to be greeted by a pair of rough looking army boots. Bucky took a step back, clearing his throat as Charlotte straightened herself out. 

“Are you up for a little adventure?” He said, a smirk spread in his voice. Charlotte blinked, a little unsure. Bucky sighed and slumped a bit. 

“Do you want to go walk around the museum? It’s better than being stuck in this place all night..” He ran a hand through his hair. Charlotte slowly worked herself up to her feet, ignoring the hand that Bucky held out to help her.   
“I would.. Like that, yes.” She smiled, looking towards the exhibit exit. She set her bag down, knowing that if that mangy cat came back, Bucky would probably help her. Bucky gave her a goofy grin before offering his arm out to her. Charlotte paused before hooking her arm around his.   
“What a gentlemen.” She said, half mumbling it. Bucky let out a single laugh.   
“My mother would kill me if I wasn’t.” He said, smiling down at her. The height difference was a real bothersome thing. He was a dashing six feet tall, and Charlotte was a stubby little five foot thing. 

The two walked around the museum for some time, Bucky pointing out and introducing Charlotte to several of the faceless mannequins in period clothing. They had names, and seemed friendly enough considering all they could do was nod their heads and offer hand shakes. The museum was mostly quiet, though at times charlotte could hear the quiet sounds of a herd of deer wandering by. It was almost peaceful, until she realize that they were once made of fiberglass and were now living, breathing things. Charlotte paused in front one of the exhibits. It was of two mannequins wearing old dresses from the 1800’s. Faceless, and trapped behind glass. They had their hands on the glass, and almost looked like they were begging. Bucky walked up behind her, staring ahead at the exhibit. 

“Poor girls.” He mumbled, Charlotte looked at him.   
“They can’t get out?” She questioned, Bucky nodded.   
“When the exhibits get old enough they get put in air filtered..cages.. Basically” He shuddered almost comically. He turned to her and took her arm gently, leading her away.   
“Trapped for eternity in a glass box..nu uh, not my thing.” He said, looking down at her with a goofy smile. Charlotte gave a small smile back. They had gotten a few feet down the long, cemented floor hallway before She stopped him. 

“Do you...realize you aren’t..you know.. Real?” She said, biting her lip and almost wincing at the thought of insulting him. She didn’t know why quite yet. Bucky stopped and blinked, rubbing the back of his neck again.   
“What do you mean? I’m standing in front of you aren’t I?” He said, taking a few more steps forward. Charlotte had to job to keep up with his stride.   
“I mean...The real Bucky Barnes died..” She trailed off, surely she had just insulted him. Bucky looked down.   
“That's what the plaque says, yeah.. But.. I don’t remember dyin’.” He gave her another feel good goofy grin, a reassurance. Charlotte nodded, her cheeks still red. 

“I’m sorry..I feel horrible for asking that it’s just...a lot to take in.. I was curious..” Bucky just gave her this smile, his eyes practically shining for her.   
“Don’t worry about it, Doll, kinda cute the way you asked.” He opened his mouth to say more but the sound of footsteps behind them made him shut it. 

“Buck, come on, it’s almost opening.” Charlotte’s eyes nearly popped out of her skull. It couldn’t be morning already, could it? It had felt like merely hours.. She wasn’t even tired! She whipped her head around frantically for a window, so she could confirm that it was morning. Bucky just stared at her. 

“What… are you doing?” He cocked his hip so he put most of his weight on one side. 

“It can’t be morning.. That’s impossible..” Charlotte said, putting her head between her hands. Bucky shrugged.   
“Steve says it is.. I believe him..We..” He paused, a bit hesitant.   
“We should probably.. Get you out of here.” His voice almost seemed sad. Like he didn’t want to lose his tour buddy. Charlotte, just for a moment, didn’t want to leave either. She nodded and began following him back to the Captain America exhibit. This whole thing had gone by so fast… what had happened?

Bucky had parked Charlotte right beside the nearest exit door, the red little ‘exit’ sign lighting up the small dark corner. The two awkwardly stared at each other, wondering if a ‘goodbye’ was something that was needed. 

“So I guess.. Tell Steve um.. Thank you, for saving my life.” Charlotte managed to stammer out, tucking some hair behind her ears. Bucky nodded, like being given a command in the army. He looked behind him quickly, before turning back to her. 

“Your bag...wait here, I’ll get it.” he said, before rushing off inside the partitioned off exhibit. A few moments later he returned, Charlotte’s bag carefully in his hands. He held it out to her, Charlotte taking it gingerly. His hand brushed against hers, like something out of a cheesy romance novel.   
“Thank you, for.. Keeping me sane. The tour.. And my bag..” She started to ramble. Bucky smiled and put a hand on her arm, a small gesture that made her jump just a tad.   
“The honor as been all mine, I’d walk you home but…” he gestured to the door. “Can’t leave.”   
“Right.”   
A pause in their conversation made it just all the more awkward. Charlotte slung her back over her shoulder, turning to face the door. She took a deep breath and put her hands on the handle. She looked behind her, only to see Bucky walking away back to his normal spot. Another deep breath, and she pushed the door open. 

 

The bus ride home had been torture, sitting in her apartment alone had been torture. Her mind just swam and swirled with the events that had just happened to her. It seemed that time passed differently in the museum, because the second she has stepped outside, she needed to sleep. Just a nap, she thought. Charlotte couldn’t pull out her futon bed fast enough. The second she had hit her head to pillow though, the dreams happened. It wasn’t a dream of some wild scenario or anything, like she had just witnessed, but it was just.. Nothing but Bucky. His face, that smile, the way his eyes crinkled with he laughed. The way he had offered her his arm. You don’t find guys like that anymore. Charlotte sat straight up in bed, sweaty and breathing heavy. She had a crush on a museum mannequin. Oh my god.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so so so sorry for the wait, work is kicking me down into the ground and it's disheartening. But! Here's another chapter for you! Enjoy, like, and comment!

Charlotte didn’t sleep much that night, either from her nap or from the thought of Bucky in her head. She woke up almost past noon. He was fascinating. He was different. Charlotte always liked different. Charlotte sighed and rubbed her hand over her face, maybe different is what she needed. She looked around her apartment, sighing again. Her bag still lay on the floor from where she dumped it the night before, the handle ripped and tied in a knot was the only real evidence of the night before. Charlotte got up and picked it up, only to set it back down again. The thought of going back popped into her head, if nothing else but to see more of the museum. Charlotte bit her lip, thinking to herself. The sound of a tiny bell ringing and coming closer, the sound of little feet pattering towards her pulled her out of her thoughts. A large, smokey grey cat looked up at her and meowed loudly, Charlotte grinned and walked towards the kitchen. 

“You want some food, Dusty?” She asked the cat, who only squeaked again. She poured some food into his bowl, before hopping up onto the kitchen counter to watch him. Bucky’s face flashed in her mind again, so did Steve’s. She wondered what they did during the day. The pamphlet to the museum sat on the counter, the advertisement to the Cap exhibit enblazened on the front of it. Char groaned and put her head in her hands. She slid herself off of the kitchen counter and padded over to her room. Dusty the cat followed her, more interested in his owner now than his kibble. 

The young woman ripped through her closet, looking for something to wear. It was raining outside so naturally, stupidly, Charlotte picked a comfy tshirt and jeans before throwing her boots on and scooping up her still broken bag. Her cat looked at her curiously, purring the moment Charlotte touched him.   
“I’ll be back in the morning, okay?” She cooed to her lovely kitty. She glanced at the clock, the green neon letters on the oven saying that it was two hours before the museum closed. An hour to get there, it seemed perfect. 

 

The train ride seemed too long. The walk up to the museum seemed too long. Time seemed to drag on. Charlotte stood in line, eager to purchase another ticket. The same little old lady from that first night was working at the till, that same gentle smile on her face. Charlotte approached the desk, already digging through her bag for her wallet. The little old lady smiled.   
“Back again, dear?” She said, sweetly. Charlotte nodded, a little embarrassed. The lady ripped off her ticket and handed it to her. Another knowing smile. What did that lady know? Charlotte thanked her quickly and set off into the museum. She purposefully went past Steve and Bucky’s exhibit, walking further into the museum. There was a section that Charlotte loved the most, the replicated town. It was the best thing Charlotte had seen. It was like stepping into the 1900’s herself. She wondered if Bucky and Steve ever spent time here. There was a medicinal shop, a projector theatre, the floor looked like a dirt road almost, and there was even an upstairs, with a complete apartment all set to fit the theme. A few more shops and a blacksmith’s completed the look. Charlotte took a deep breath in and smiled, it felt very cozy here. 

Charlotte had wondered what the legal implications would be if she packed up her fat grey cat and moved into this little section of the museum when the overhead speakers reminded her that the museum was closing. She blinked before looking frantically around, looking for a place to hide. As it turns out, it wasn’t that hard. Charlotte had managed to wedge herself behind one of the ‘buildings’, out of plain sight. A night guard had done a rough walk through of the place and then left to go home. Charlotte listened closely for some sort of sound of the museum waking up. Sure enough, the sound of a bull deer mooing distantly could be heard, a telltale sign that Bucky and Steve must be awake too. 

A few faceless mannequins had started to walk around the little town, as if strolling through the city on a sunday. The ones that were planted inside the little buildings had taken on the roles of their respected shops, someone was at the movie theatre ticket booth for instance. Charlotte looked around, amazed. She wanted to look around at everyone moving around the town for a little bit, before remembering why she was here. She spun around and took off at a run towards the Captain America exhibit. 

Charlotte was almost at a full sprint when she practically slammed into the gate that separated the snowy mountain top exhibit to the rest of the museum. The sound was much louder than she anticipated and it seemed to echo through the entire museum. A man with a glorious mustache popped is head around the corner, a wide smile wiping over his face. 

“Ay Buck, Steve! Your broken bag girl is back!” He hollered, walking forward and heaving the gate open. Echoing sound of footsteps carried through the area. Both Steve and Bucky rounded the corner, looks of confusion spread across their faces. Steve’s spread to a wide smile as he started walking towards her, Bucky just stayed confused. 

“You’re back!” Steve smiled. “Let me take your bag.” He said, holding out his hands. Charlotte blushed and handed it over.   
“Well you guys are the best company I’ve had in a while” She admitted, lowering her eyes to the ground before looking back up. “And we never finished our tour.” She said, a little louder while looking to Bucky in the back. He speed walked forward towards her, his face spreading into a smile. 

“You came back.” He grinned, Steve rolled his eyes.   
“Good thing too, cause Buck here wouldn’t stop talking about yo-” He was cut off from a elbow to the side from Bucky. Charlotte let out a small little laugh, looking around at the different distractions around her. Bucky cleared his throat and looked at her. 

“How did you…?” He trailed off. Charlotte looked behind her and shrugged. 

“That place with the little town? I hid between some buildings.” She said, causing Steve to let out a laugh. He shook his head as Bucky shot him a glare. 

“Very..creative.” Steve said, stifling another laugh. Charlotte shoved her hands in her pockets.   
“It was all I could think of at the time..” Bucky let out a groan and pushed past Steve, walking towards Charlotte and linking his arm around hers. 

“Ignore him, come on, let's go finish that tour.” He said, leading Charlotte suddenly away. Steve stood up on his tiptoes to call after them.   
“Have fun!” 

 

Bucky let out another groan and gave Charlotte some space as soon as they were out of yelling distance from Steve. Charlotte looked up to him, watching how stoic his face look as he thought about something. He turned the corner suddenly, causing Charlotte to stumble briefly to catch up to him. He lead them back to the little town Charlotte was in before. She stopped, a look of confusion spread on her face. Bucky turned and faced her, laughing a little when he saw her face. 

“Come on, gotta show you the best part of the tour.” He said, taking her hand and tugging her towards the little theatre. Charlotte looked down to where their hands linked, her face growing warm. His hand was warm, his grip firm but not painful. The theatre was very, very small. Maybe enough seats for 5 or 6 people. There was a projector playing an old silent film against the wall. Not much of a theatre but it was cute. Bucky took a seat in one of the old, wooden chairs, flipping down the seat beside him and patting it. 

“Come on!” Charlotte smiled and obliged, settling down into the seat with a creak. The film had no music, nor speaking, so the two just stared at the picture on the wall. Bucky, on the other hand, had been watching her. The way the light reflected off Charlotte’s skin, the way the outside museum lights made her hair almost glow. Slowly, ever so slowly, He slid his around around the back of her chair. Charlotte blushed as she saw his harm go behind her back. What was he pulling? She cleared her throat, pointing at one of the guys on the screen. 

“Is that..?” Bucky nodded.   
“Charlie Chaplin, famous actor from….our time..” he said softly. Charlotte nodded.   
“What year is it?” Bucky asked after sometime. Charlotte looked to him.   
“I mean.. Outside of the building..?” He clarified.   
“Oh.. 2012.” Charlotte said softly. She leaned back as she watched Bucky nod to himself and think about that for a minute. She felt his hand touch against her hair. Another blush. Bucky looked back up to the cinema screen.

“Why did you come back?” A question that caught charlotte by surprise. She paused, not sure how to respond.   
“This place is.. Different. Good different. And you and Steve are much better company, not that my cat isn’t good company it’s just… lonely.” She said, cursing mentally for rambling. Bucky smiled, looking down. 

“So you live alone?”   
“No….I have that cat too.” Bucky laughed.   
“What’s its name?” Charlotte almost lit up, loving every chance she could to talk about her cat.   
“His name is Dusty, he’s a goofball.” She said, smiling at the memory of her cat waiting for her back home. Bucky just stared, a grin plastered on his face.   
“And..” Charlotte started again, Bucky listened intently. “I’ll admit...I wanted to see you again..” Her own brain was screaming at her. What are you doing? It was Bucky’s turn to blush. “Oh?” Charlotte nodded. What are you doing?   
“I mean.. How many times can you say you have a friend that’s a mannequin during the day and a person at night?” She said with a smile. Bucky just laughed, he pulled his arm closer around her, causing Charlotte to giggle even more. 

“It’s nice to have a friend that’s.. Well.. not stuck in this place.” 

Over the next few hours, Bucky and Charlotte talked. It only felt like minutes to her, but with Bucky she never wanted it to end. Bucky talked about his family mostly, his siblings, his parents, his apartment that he lived in with them. He explained that one day he and Steve just woke up, suddenly not in their army tent in the 1940’s. Bucky shuddered as he recalled the memory, Charlotte could only nod her head in understanding. They stayed in that small little ‘theatre’ for hours, only being interrupted by Steve poking his head in. 

“One hour till morning, Charlotte” he said quickly before ducking out. Charlotte yawned and nodded, biting her lip and staring at the floor. She didn’t want to go. She wanted to stay here and talk to Bucky some more. Bucky stood up and stretched, as if sitting in the small seat for him was painful. He looked at her, offering her his hand to help her up. 

“What’s wrong?” He asked, catching her down trodden look on her face. Charlotte paused, unsure of how to tell her new found friend that she didn’t want to leave him to go back to her normal life. 

“I don’t..” she stopped, clearing her throat before starting again. “I don’t want to go.” Bucky just looked down, nodding. 

“Don’t want you to go either.” There was a long pause, an unspoken ‘don’t go’ between them. Charlotte got to her feet and started towards the exit, looking back to see if Bucky was following.   
“If anything, you always know where I am.” Bucky said with a small laugh. Charlotte smiled.   
“I’ll come back tomorrow.” She said, more to herself, as if to reassure herself. Bucky grinned.   
“I’d like that.” 

Saying goodbye was different this time. It wasn’t a ‘I probably won’t ever see you again so let's just get this over with’ goodbye. They were at the same exit, standing next to each other, staring at the metal door. Charlotte took a step forward as Bucky scratched the back of his neck.   
“So I’ll see you.. Tomorrow..?” He confirmed, hopefully. Charlotte nodded and smiled. “Tomorrow.”   
Bucky grinned and took a step forward, leaning in to give her a small peck on the cheek. Charlotte instantly turned three different shades of red. Bucky gave her a wink before spinning on his heels and walking back to his exhibit. 

It took everything in Charlotte not to run home to get some sleep for the next night.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you everyone so much for all the love on the last chapter! I hope this one doesn't disappoint! Keep up the comments and the kudos cause gosh darn I LOVE THEM SO MUCH! Next chapter is all planned out and boy you kids are in for an emotional treat!   
> I apologize that this chapter is so short, I'm seeing infinity war tonight (even though I've had it spoiled for me by tumblr) and I wanted to get it out before I left.

Bucky had dissolved a new plan. Every night, before he went back to this little stage for the day, he stuck a door wedge into the old exit door. It propped the door just enough so Charlotte could sneak in. Sure it wasn’t exactly legal but at this point, no one knew if anyone cared. Charlotte kept true on her word, going to visit him every night. A large smile plastered on his face. Sure, Charlotte's sleep schedule and working from home schedule was permanently screwed up, but she was happy for the first time in a long while. 

Charlotte ate quietly at her dining table, the sun setting in the background. The evening news was on, blaring quietly as Dusty the cat pawed at charlottes arm for some chicken. Charlotte obliged. She shoved another spoonful of dinner into her mouth, pausing when a headline flashed across the tv screen. 

“After nearly 70 years, we can report that miraculously, Captain America has been found alive.” The news reporter said. Charlotte raised an eyebrow.  
“Encapsulated in an iceberg, we can report that Steven Rogers is in fact alive and is currently undergoing testing and evaluation in D.C”  
Charlotte just gawked at the tv. Steve was alive. Huh. 

The trip to the museum that night wasn’t as bad. The train wasn’t packed with people, it was warmer out, the rush hour had died down. She walked along the edge of the building, finding that the exit door was propped open, like always. She smiled. Bucky was very diligent about helping her get into the museum without paying. Charlotte picked the door wedge up and carefully tip toed back to her normal hiding spot, wedged tightly behind two fake buildings. Charlotte could feel herself nodding off in her little corner, not that she got any normal amounts of sleep anymore. Normally, Bucky came and found her, a sure tell sign that the coast was clear and they were free to spend the night as she wanted. 

Tonight however, she noticed he didn’t. Carefully, she managed to unwedge herself, stumbling into the little fake street. Charlotte walked through the halls, getting a tiny bit worried something had happened. What could happen to a mannequin? She wondered, turning the corner to find a crowd had gathered up in the Cap exhibit. She looked, and her heart broke. 

Steve was standing up on the little staged, still posed like he was going into battle, his shield in hand. The howling commandos were gathered around him, but he still had that artificial look to his face, like he was still made of wax. Charlotte realized, with a gasp, that he was. Dugan was slapping at his face, someone pulled at his shield, and someone was at his feet, crumpled at his feet, his face in his hands. Bucky Barnes, one of the toughest men Charlotte knew, was crying. 

It wasn’t a loud sobbing crying, but it was quiet, mournful. Charlotte supposed he was mourning in way. His best friend wasn’t waking up. 

“Steve? come on man..wake up.. Please..” Bucky said, his voice cracking halfway through. Charlotte pushed her way gently through a crowd. Steven Rogers wasn’t waking up. His skin had a shine to it, still made of wax. His eyes stared forward, glassy and not really seeing anything. Bucky was clutched to his legs. 

“Oh god no, no no this isn’t happening..” He trailed off, his voice filled with dread and sadness. Charlotte just stared at him, unsure of what to do or say. Finally she found her voice, though when she spoke up it was small and weak. 

“Bucky..?” She said, feeling ten times smaller than she was. How could she help in this situation? Her mind raced back to the news footage she saw, saying how Steve was alive. Her mind stopped. Steve was alive. Bucky snapped his head up, finally letting go of Steve’s unmoving legs to throw himself into Charlotte’s arms. A sob broke from his mouth, Charlotte's heartbreaking all over again. 

“He..he won’t wake up...he won’t wake up…” He just said, numbly. Charlotte wrapped her arms around him, hugging him back tightly.  
“I know.. I know..” was all she could say. What do you say in this situation? “I saw...something on the news today.. About him..” She immediately regret saying this, everyone’s head snapping up to look at her. 

“What do you mean?” Someone asked. Bucky’s eyes were red and puffy, he still had his arms around her waist. Charlotte didn’t like having all those eyes on her suddenly.  
“They..found him.” Was all she could stammer out. Bucky looked confused, and hurt.  
“What do you mean?”  
The longest pause Charlotte could muster seemed to cause more tension in the air.  
“Steve..he’s.. Alive..they found him alive.. After all these years..” 

 

Bucky was sat in the corner, his head in his hands. A flood of emotions running through him. Charlotte explained that he must have somehow survived in an iceberg all these. She watched his face from a distance, giving him time to cool off and think everything through. He had lost his best friend, only to find out he was alive...just not here in the museum with him. He had his commandos with him but nothing really beat Steve in terms of friendship, even Charlotte knew that. She sat and looked at him sadly from across the room. She should say something, but what? There’s no hallmark card for ‘sorry your best friend is actually alive and you really aren’t’. 

She stood up, her hands fiddling with each other in front of her.  
“Buck?” She said softly. He didn’t look up. Charlotte sat down next to him, not saying anything. He knew she was there, and her presence was all that was needed it seemed. 

“I wish you could stay here.” He said, after some silence. Charlotte nodded.  
“I know.” Bucky looked up at her, before resting his head on her shoulder, wrapping an arm around her tightly. The way he had been made up for the exhibit was that he looked tired. Like he had been in a battle all night as was walking home towards camp. The recent news and events made him look even more tired. Charlotte rested her head against his, a hand going to his knee. This was the first time they had really been comfortable with each other to tangle themselves together. It felt so right, charlotte thought. Slowly, she reached for his hand, intertwining her fingers with his. Bucky’s eyes shot open, glancing down at where their hands met.  
“Doll?” he said, softly. His voice still ached sadness. Charlotte hummed a response.  
“What are we?” He asked. Charlotte felt her stomach flip.  
“What do you mean?”  
“I mean.. What...are we? Are we friends? More than that?” Charlotte couldn’t place his tone, his breath still shaky from what she assumed was crying. He squeezed her hand, still laced between her fingers, as if to refer to that. Charlotte wondered that herself.  
“I don’t.. Know” she answered honestly. Bucky nodded. “Do you want to be?” Charlotte kept talking, not sure of what she wanted the answer to be. This would be difficult. This would be impossible. Would they be dating if they knew they could never marry? Never have children? He would never see her apartment, meet her cat, never get to share her bed. But nevertheless, she wanted him. He was the only person that made her feel whole. 

Bucky looked up at the motionless Steve, another choking breath escaping his lungs.  
“It feels wrong to be talking about this...with him gone and to be talking about this…’ He mumbled, using his left hand to rub his face. He never let go of Charlotte's hands. She looked down, nodding.  
“I understand.” was that the answer then? No? He didn’t want to be more? Bucky thought about this, looking off in the distance as the crowd was walking away, giving the commandos and him time to process the loss of their friend. He wasn’t dead, but in this museum he might as well be. 

“I want to be.” he said finally, lifting his head from her shoulder to look at her. His eyes were still red, but he looked more calm. Charlotte smiled, before looking more serious. 

“You know this won’t be easy right..?”  
“Does that mean you want to be more too?” Bucky asked, a slight tinge of happiness in his voice. Charlotte nodded, giving his hand a squeeze. For the first time that day, Bucky smiled. Then frowned.  
“What do you mean it won’t be easy?” He asked, as if he hadn’t thought this whole thing through. It was Charlotte’s turn to run a hand through her hair, wincing as her fingers caught on some tangles.  
“I mean.. It’s just.. Different from any other relationship I’ve had. You can’t leave here...you’re..not..” Bucky squeezed her hand in reassurance. Charlotte took another breath and sighed.  
“You’re not real, Bucky.” She closed her eyes, as if saying the words were too painful. Bucky was silent for a few moments before speaking again. 

“We can try though, can’t we? Steve would have… Steve would have wanted us to at least try.” He said, causing Charlotte to raise an eyebrow. 

“Would he?” She asked, Bucky nodded.  
“He knew from the beginning that I...well that I..liked..” He stopped, his cheeks growing red to match his puffy eyes.  
“That you liked me?” Charlotte said with a giggle. Bucky nodded and then looked to her smiling. He looked back up to the unmoving Steve and just sighed. Charlotte followed his gaze and tried to change the subject, not sure if it would help her or not. 

“You know it’s a good thing we figured out how to keep the door propped open.” She said, reaching into her pocket and pulling out a hair tie before scooping up her thick hair into a ponytail. Bucky looked at her.  
“Why’s that?”  
“Because I don’t want to have to pay $17.00 every time to see my...what are you? To me? Do they have a term in the 40’s for boyfriend?” She said, realizing she didn’t exactly know what to call him. Bucky laughed and leaned in closer to her. He squeezed her hand again as he suddenly pressed his lips closer to hers. Charlotte's eyes went wide before relaxing, as if him kissing her was the most comforting blanket wrapped around her. She had heard that when you met someone special, sparks and fireworks lit up the world when they kissed you. Now she could finally understand that.  
“Boyfriend is fine.” 

 

The next week or so had been a tornado of repetition and adaption. Repetition because the days and nights passed by in the same way. Charlotte spent her day working from home and taking small naps and the night with Bucky. Some nights she got her full nights rest at the museum, curled up next to Bucky as he watched her. Sort of twilight-ish, but it contented them. Adaption because the gaping hole that Steve left was huge in both the museum’s atmosphere, and to Bucky’s. He seemed more quieter than his usual cocky, talkative self. Aaaption because suddenly Charlotte’s world went from being alone in her apartment with her cat, to sitting on the floor of a museum with a man she knew in her heart that she loved. Kisses became a regular, hugs and being held became the new norm. Charlotte loved it...and she didn’t. Coming home from the museum in the mornings meant that she would start fighting with her own mind. 

He wasn’t real. He was made of wax realistically. They would never be together forever. So naturally, because of these thoughts, she arrived that next night in a mood. Not an obvious bad mood, but a mood. 

“Doll?” Bucky had asked that night, sitting in front of the indoor garden. “Is everything okay?” his voice was soft, tentative. Charlotte groaned and put her head in her hands. Bucky put a hand on her back, rubbing it softly. The little clang of his dog tags were the only sounds being made. 

“What are we doing?” She asked, finally. Bucky raised an eyebrow in question, but didn’t speak. Charlotte kept her head in her hands. 

“I mean.. How is this going to work? These past few weeks have been some of the best times of my life but I just… “ She trailed off. Bucky nudged her lightly. 

“What is it? What’s wrong, doll?”  
“What if we wanted to get married? How would that work? You can’t leave here...you can’t…” She was starting to cry now. Tears pricked at her eyes and before she knew it, they rolled down her face. Bucky sighed and held her with both of his arms. Charlotte could make out that he was making quiet shushing noises. 

“I wish I knew the answers to those questions...but I don’t know. We just have to make the best of it.” He said finally, still rubbing her back. Charlotte leaned into him. Bucky’s fingers laced their way to her hair as he leaned forward and kissed her forehead. 

“The universe wanted us to be together somehow, it’s up to us to figure out how.” He mumbled. Charlotte nodded and looked up to him, catching him by surprise with a kiss. Bucky just grinned into the kiss. Charlotte got up a little bit, sitting up right and placing a hand on his chest. The way his ‘costume’ was slightly unbuttoned gave Charlotte a bit of room to sneak her hand down into shirt, causing Bucky to shiver. He was warm, she realized. Her hand was probably cold. She pulled away, breaking the kiss. 

“Sorry, she said with a giggle. Bucky just laughed and pecked her on the nose.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One minute I go from no updates for days and now you guys get an update everyday lol. I saw infinity war, it broke me, so have a short, but very emotional chapter!

Very rarely did Charlotte go outside in the real world during the day. Eventually though, she had to pick up cat food and some form of real life food. Charlotte had spent the entire day, her day off from her actual job, on the internet. Much to the annoyances of her cat. Today, after sleeping in for a few good hours, had been a day of research. Googling as much as she could about Captain America’s resurface, hoping that maybe there was some way they’d put him back on ice so that Bucky could have his best friend back. There were lots of articles on him now, every news source wanting to get a feature on a human preserved in ice, let alone of the most interesting science experiments being preserved. Charlotte sighed and rubbed her face as she pushed back from her desk, not getting as much information as she wanted. Slowly she slid herself back in place at her computer, pulling up a new search tab. 

‘How to make long distance relationships work’ was all she googled. Millions of results flooded her screen. She touched at the dog tag on her neck. ‘James B Barnes’ was said very clearly on it, with his army number and basic ID details. She had purchased it at the gift shop on afternoon, the only other time she had actually paid to go see Bucky. It was a good way of remembering him during the day, and Bucky said Charlotte had always looked cute with it on. Most of the articles said the same thing: Communicate. Charlotte huffed, putting her head down on her desk. Easier said than done, she thought. 

Dusty, her fat cat, had plopped himself down at Charlottes feet. He cried a loud ‘MOWW’, making charlotte look up. The empty cat bowl made her sigh. 

‘Sorry buddy, I’ll go get you some food now’ She said, grabbing her coat. The air outside was starting to really warm up, the kind of weather where beaches should be a weekly visit. Charlotte wondered if Bucky had been to a beach in his real life. He should have, right? The pet food store was on the other side of town, because Charlotte was an idiot and had to buy her cat the most expensive kind there was. So it was specialty pet food stores for her now. Her trip, however, was brightened when she realized she could walk past the museum and home of her lover. Even just looking at the place, knowing that he was in there, made her happy. 

The train stopped with a loud bang, as it always had, and it’s doors slid open. The hot air rushing out to meet her face. Charlotte walked out of the station, grinning as she could always see the museum building from here. The museum looked the same as it always had, except this time in it’s loading docks off the side of the building, was a long giant truck. It looked to be unloading something or loading something. Charlotte had a moment of panic before breathing to calm herself down. Everything was probably fine, she told herself. Maybe a new exhibit was being put in, which would mean meeting new ‘people’. The thought excited her as she continued on her way. 

Finally after a couple hours and a screaming cat, Dusty was fed. Charlotte sighed and slumped into her arm chair, turning on the news and hoping to hear that by some miracle, they shoved Steve back into the ice and he’d be there at the museum later that night, grinning and clapping Bucky on the back. No such luck, it would seem. She glanced at the time, sighing when there was still so much time left before she knew it would be safe to go see him. A news bulletin flashed across her tv, something about Tony Stark of Stark industries involved in an alien attack. Charlotte shook her head, turning the tv off. Too much information to process with that one. 

Eventually, after a quick nap, Charlotte set out for the museum. Hopping on the same train as always, she practically ran towards the museum. The day was long and she was more than looking forward to seeing Bucky. She looked into the widows, seeing the lobby was dark and closed. A grin crept on her face. She was so close to seeing him. A quick glance around and she had crept through the door that always stayed propped open. The familiar museum air filled her lungs with a comforting smell. Charlotte was greeted by the usual sights. Mannequins in everyday vintage dress wear waved and nodded, a taxidermied animal snorted and huffed as they walked past. Charlotte grinned and reached out to pet one of the passing does as she walked past her. 

Charlotte weaved her way through the museums halls, making sure to stop by and say hello to a few people and animals she had grown a little bit close to. Finally, with her heart aching to be held by Bucky, she reached the familiar gates of the Cap exhibit. Only this time, it looked different. It’s layout had changed. Charlotte furrowed her eyebrows. Bucky wasn’t anywhere to be found when she pulled back the security gate to the exhibit. 

“Bucky?” She called out, her voice echoing through the little room. No response, odd, she thought. The rest of the commandos weren’t in sight either. The little set that they all once stood on was gone completely. Charlotte’s heart sank with an audible thud. She looked around more frantically.   
“Bucky? Dugan? Where are you?” She yelled, just a little bit louder. Charlotte’s breathing began to quicken, a panic attack on the edge of the horizon. They couldn’t have just taken them away, she thought, they had to have just moved them. Her eyes scanned the exhibit room before remembering there was a secondary room off to the side. They had to be there, maybe just relaxing and couldn’t hear her. She practically sprinted to the little hallway that led to the other room, before stopping dead in her tracks. 

As she turned the corner, the blood drained from her face completely. Standing around a painted mural, were 7 mannequins. The costumes the same, the faces painted on the mural the same, but the mannequins were now faceless. Including Bucky’s. 

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Charlotte stood still, locked in her panicked state. No one seemed to acknowledge she was there, or maybe they just didn’t see her. Steve’s mannequin was moving again, though the only way she could tell it was him was by the costume. 

It was at this point that Charlotte felt sick, and ran over to the nearest trash can to empty her stomach. The sound of her vomiting seemed to catch everyone’s attention, and suddenly all 7 mannequins were on their feet and staring. Steve, or at least someone wearing Steve’s costume, had rushed over and put her hand on her back. Charlotte jerked away, a little out of fear, a little out of shock. Steve put his hands up, and Charlotte really got to look at his face. It was better than the other faceless mannequins. You could tell where the eyes were and where the mouth was, and a nose. But his skin, all their skin colors, were bleach white. They couldn’t blink, couldn’t open their mouths, Charlotte wasn’t even sure how they were breathing. Charlotte craned her head to look at Steve, her eyes starting to fill with tears. Steve backed off, lowering his head and walking back to the group. Bucky stood there, with the same exact face as Steve’s, staring. Both of them stood still, as if either of them didn’t know what to do. He still looked like Bucky, outfit wise. It was still that costume that she knew and loved. But his face was just..gone. Finally, Charlotte found a tiny voice in her throat, barely making out a ‘Oh my god’. That seemed to break Bucky from his stance, using long strides to rush up to Charlotte, pulling her in the tightest hug she had been in. She hugged back, noticing how he wasn’t warm anymore. He felt different. Softer, as if the body underneath his clothes was made of stuffing. Bucky buried his head in the crook of her neck as Charlotte started to cry. 

“Buck..what...what happened? What did they do to you…” she whispered, wanting nothing more than to lace her fingers in his hair. A choking sob escaped her throat, causing Bucky to pull back, still keeping his arms on her waist. He looked at her as best as he could, which wasn’t easy considering he just didn’t have a face anymore. Bucky shook his head at her, causing Charlotte to cry harder. He couldn’t speak. He couldn’t speak. Another loud sob escaped her throat. 

“Why..” she said, openly sobbing. Tears streamed down her face. The rest of the commandos had gone back to staring at their shoes or their newly molded hands. Steve stared at the couple. It was his first time seeing Bucky and Charlotte as a pair, having confessed their feelings and adapted to a new life together. Bucky got his friend back, like he wanted, but lost almost everything else in return. Bucky leaned in close and pressed his face gently to her soaked cheek. Charlotte realized with another sob that he was trying to kiss her. Trying to kiss her tears away. But he couldn’t. Charlotte realized that when she first met Bucky, she was in a nightmare and trying to wake up. Now she was hoping and begging and pleading that this was a nightmare all over again. 

 

She felt numb. Time passed slowly that night. Normally a night with Bucky felt like 2 or 3 hours, but tonight time seemed to show it’s true form. It had only been a few minutes, yet it felt like a whole night had passed. No one spoke, not that they could. Charlotte didn’t want to speak. She found herself in a corner of the room, hugging her knees to herself and staring blankly forward. Bucky knelt in front of her, rubbing her knee gently. If anyone came up to see how Charlotte was doing, Bucky just waved them away. Like he wanted the world to just be him and her for the moment. Charlotte guess that anyways, she didn’t know what he was trying to do. 

“The universe wants us to be together.” She said quietly after a while, quoting Bucky from the night before. Bucky’s head just tilted up to hers before nodding sadly. Another tear leaked out of her eyes, Bucky’s harsh white molded hand reaching up to wipe it away. Bucky moved to sit on his rear in front of her, taking her hand in his. It felt odd now, holding his hand. Before it was flesh on flesh, now it was plastic and fabric on flesh. Charlotte reached up for Bucky’s face, tracing her fingers lightly along his new jawline. Bucky leaned into her touch. 

“Can you see me?” She asked quietly. Bucky took her hand and put her other hand on his face, right where an eyeball should be. Charlotte wanted to pull away, the action feeling wrong. He nodded, letting her feel the molded plastic that was his face. She trailed a finger lightly along his nose, one that certainly wasn’t his nose. It wasn’t his face. It was a stranger’s face, and it felt wrong. 

“Are you sure it’s you?” She asked, the phrasing all wrong but she didn’t know how else to word it. Bucky nodded again. Steve had been watching their interactions, his hands balled up in fists, as if seeing his two friends made him hurt more. He stormed out of the exhibit hall and into the lobby, Charlotte and Bucky watching as stomped out. A few short minutes later, he returned. A whiteboard and pen in his hand. Charlotte’s eyes lit up. Why didn’t she think of that before? Steve shoved the board into Bucky’s hand before going to sit back down with the rest of the group. He looked at Charlotte and nodded, causing Charlotte to smile for the first time that night. 

“Thank you, Steve.” She said, just loud enough for him to hear. He nodded again. Bucky uncapped the pen and wrote something down on the board, before flipping the board around for her to see. 

‘Hi’ 

Charlotte let out a choked laugh, tears falling all over again.   
“Hi, Buck.” She said, a smile stretched wide across her face. Bucky flipped the board around, erasing the previous word and scribbling something and flipping the board again. 

‘I love you.’


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh my god two chapters in one day is a record for me. Literally. I'm so addicted to writing this story, no matter how scared I am of rushing the plot too much. I'm trying, really. It's a shorter chapter, but I felt it was needed after the emotional one that was last chapter.   
> Let me know what you think!   
> Again, sorry if the pacing isn't great.

There are five stages to grieving. If that’s what Charlotte was going through was grieving. She however seemed to be stuck on the second stage. Anger. Merely an hour ago she was a sobbing puddle of tears, her face still sticky with them. She wanted to wake up, for this be some insane nightmare. Charlotte even resorted to slapping herself lightly in the face, to see if that would get her to wake up. Bucky, who hadn’t left her side the entire time, just reached for her hand, threading his fingers between her. Charlotte closed her eyes and sighed. Their hands didn’t mold to each other’s anymore. The silence in the room was deafening. Charlotte’s mind raced. They had taken him away. The real him...or not the real him. The fake realistic him. Another sigh. The real Bucky Barnes was dead, and that thought stung her sometimes. 

Charlotte realized with a sickening feeling that the trucks she had seen earlier was probably when they changed the mannequins out. She might have actually watched the love of her life be ripped from her. A nudge from Bucky brought her back to reality, and to the thought that he was still there.. In a sense. 

‘Are you okay?’ Bucky had written on the little white board. His penmanship was neat and clean and pretty to read. Charlotte shook her head honestly.   
“No, no I’m not. I’m..” she trailed off, unsure what she was even feeling. “I’m angry.” She said finally, sighing and putting her head in her hands. Another nudge from Bucky. 

‘It’s not your fault’

Charlotte huffed. The images of the trucks hooked up to the loading dock flashed in her head. Did they take the real Bucky away? A thousand questions raced through her mind as her knee started shaking, her fist clenched. She felt like she wanted to punch something. A flash of a memory ripped through her head, a floor map of the museum, and where the archive was in this damn building. In a few seconds Charlotte was on her feet and racing towards the rest of the museum, forgetting about Bucky and the rest of the commandos and Steve. Charlotte whipped her head around, looking for where she wanted to go. She could hear footsteps behind her, but she was too fueled by anger or something, she didn’t really know herself. The sign pointing to the basement stairs was almost too obvious and it took everything in Charlotte not to throw herself down them to get to the basement faster. More footsteps behind her. She could only assume Bucky and Steve had followed. 

The basement smelled awful, like mold and dust. It was dark and there were hardly any light sources, the only ones that were down there were bright orange. Dozens of shelves of artifacts that weren’t being used laid out in front of her, so many different objects and artifacts. At the end of the long basement made Charlotte feel sick all over again. Seven crates were all lined up neatly in a row. Like coffins. She slowly took a few steps towards them, her legs visibly shaking. A hand reached out and grabbed her arm, Charlotte looked back to see Bucky, his face pointed at hers. She couldn’t make out emotions on his face, or even tell what he was trying to tell her. His head shook ‘no’, as she pulled away. The crates weren’t sealed shut, one of the lids of one was half off of it. Charlotte gulped as she pushed one of the crate lids off. 

Packing peanuts almost immediately spilled out, and Charlotte breathed for the first time in a while it seemed. There were ...parts in the box. Not like gory human body parts, but clearly mannequin parts. Realistic ones at that. She didn’t have to look anymore, except for at the rest of the crates. 

“You’re all in there.” She said finally. Bucky’s arm hooked around her waist, staring at the crates as well. Charlotte felt her knees finally give out, her body finally tired from all the crying and grieving. Bucky was there instantly, scooping her up and settling her in his arms. Slowly, he took her back upstairs, carrying her into the little town part of the museum. In the display apartment, there was a bed with a real honest to god mattress. Gently, Bucky laid Charlotte down on the bed, making sure she was comfortable to a degree. Charlotte let her heavy eyelids fall, and before she knew it, it was morning. Bucky was gone, and she could hear movement in the lobby distantly. 

She felt that anger build back up inside her. 

That same little old lady was sitting at the front desk, that same grin on her face as always. She didn’t seem even the least bit shocked or phased that Charlotte had come out of the closed museum. Charlotte has spun around on the desk, her eyes red and puffy and makeup ran down her face. She looked like a pure mess. Still, the anger in her eyes was completely clear. The little old lady didn’t say anything as Charlotte stomped up to the desk, her face red in fury. 

“You monsters.” She spat, before storming off and shoving the front door open. 

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

That day passed by in a blur. Charlotte felt numb. She felt angry and sad and so many other emotions at once. Parts of the day were spent sobbing. Parts of it were spent sending the museum angry anonymous letters and napping. Her cat stared at her through the entire process, screaming for food on occasion. Before she knew it, the sun was starting to set, and the little alarm in her phone signaled that it was time to leave for the museum. Charlotte sighed and got up, shoving her arms into her jacket and grabbing her keys. It didn’t even dawn on her that she was still in her pajamas. 

The people on the train gave her funny looks, but Charlotte was past the point of caring. She had a faceless boyfriend to get to. The museum had been closed for at least an hour, which meant Charlotte was late. She confirmed this after she slipped in the already open door, to be greeted by Bucky standing there. His little whiteboard and pen in hand, a message already written on the board. 

‘Didn’t think you would come.’ 

Charlotte’s heart broke all over again. She didn’t want to cry anymore. She wanted to be brave, not for herself, but for Bucky. Charlotte couldn’t imagine what he was going through at the moment.   
“Of Course I was going to come.” She said, pushing her way into his arms. Bucky wrapped his arms around her body. Charlotte noted again that his new body still felt different. 

“If I had a choice, I wouldn’t leave.” Bucky just responded by hugging tighter. The two stayed like this for a while, just locked in their embrace. Bucky eventually broke away, taking her hand into his and tugging on it. Charlotte let out a giggle, the first one in a long time it seemed. 

“What is it?” Bucky just tugged on her hand more. He lead her through the museum, looking back at her occasionally. Eventually, he let go after leading her through the museum. Charlotte realized with a choking laugh that they were standing in front of the little theatre in the town section. Bucky scribbled something on his board. 

‘First date’ was all it said. Charlotte felt happy tears well up in her eyes. Bucky dropped the board to the side and tugged at her hand again, pulling her into one of those old wooden seats. The same movie played in the projector that had played when they first hung out officially. 

“What’s all this about?” Charlotte said, a smile spread across her face. Bucky just shrugged. Together, they stared and watched the movie. Charlotte looked up at Bucky’s face, occasionally reaching up and touching at his face. His face still scared her a little, the way how stoic it looked all the time. It wasn’t him. It didn’t look like him. Bucky hooked his arm around her and pulled her in close, somehow she knew that this was still her Bucky. Still her James. 

The movie was short, and both of them seemed to pay more attention to each other than the black and white flick. Bucky took his arm around Charlotte and tucked it at his side. Even with no face to read, Charlotte could tell he was a bit off. She looked up to him, pressing a kiss to his jaw. It still felt odd kissing him. It wasn’t his flesh. 

“Are you okay, baby?” Charlotte asked, snuggling into him further. He nodded, looking down at her, emotionless. Charlotte grinned and pulled herself from his grasp. She stretched her back out, feeling a bit of hope sparkle in her life. 

“So what do you want to do now? We could go walk in that plastic garden that’s in the middle of the…’ Charlotte said, spinning around and stopping in dead in her tracks. Bucky was now lower on the ground, balancing himself on bended knee and looking up at her.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So it sounds like the end of the story as a whole but I promise you it's not, there's more chapters planned! At least 2 or three left I think, not sure though. I DO have an idea for a Bucky/reader one shot that I want to write up, so if there's a longer break between chapters it means I'm working on that.  
> Kudos and comment and thank you so much for all the love!  
> also I apologize for such a short chapter!

“Buck..what is this..?” Charlotte asked, timidly. Bucky had bended down on one knee, a ring in his hand. He just stared back at her. He couldn’t say anything. It looked like he was proposing, Charlotte thought. He was, she realized almost instantly. 

“Buck..” She trailed off. Bucky stood up, taking a step forward. 

“Are you..?” the word went unspoken. Charlotte’s mind race as Bucky just stood there, the situation at hand playing out in her hand. Hadn’t they talked about how they could never get married? How would it work? It couldn’t...it just.. Couldn’t. Charlotte felt selfish for wanting her future marriage to be something not in a museum after closing hours. She stared at the ring in Bucky’s hand. It was old, she could tell. He must of found it in the basement, Charlotte thought. A gold band with a little amber stone embedded in it caused it to glow.. It was beautiful. Extravagant yet subtle. Charlotte fell almost instantly in love with it, and she wonder what it’s true history was. 

“Bucky we talked about this...it’s just..” She didn’t want to say no. She didn't. If she had her way, She would be together with James Buchanan Barnes for the rest of her life. Bucky’s shoulders visibly slumped, Charlotte wincing. 

“No...no it’s not like that...I want to marry you.” She paused. “I do. I just want to figure out if there’s some way…” Her mind rushed over the thought. The actual thought of stealing a mannequin from a museum in her head. She wondered how much jail time it would risk, so she could actually get married. Bucky took a step closer to her, holding the ring out. His little white board was still on the theatre steat, unable to speak for him. Charlotte took a deep breath and closed her eyes. 

“I want to marry you. I just don’t know how we can do it when you’re..” She gestured to him, and the faceless parts of him. Bucky nodded and looked down, before picking up the board and pen carefully with one hand. He scribbled something down on it carefully, the ring still in his left hand. 

‘Take the ring anyways. In case you change your mind.’ He had written down, after flipping the board over. Charlotte nodded and took a step closer to him, carefully plucking the ring from his hand. She gently slipped it on her finger, noting how a little bit too small it was. Bucky slipped his hand under hers, before pulling his fingers though and grasping her hand. Gently he pulled her from the movie theatre, looking at her all the while they walked, as if he was unable to keep his eyes off her. They walked back to the Captain America exhibit, back to where Steve and the rest of the commandos. 

Steve looked up just in time to watch the two walk into the room. Charlotte looked briefly at her watch, noting that she had only a couple hours left until she had to leave. Steve stood up and walked forward, and Charlotte wondered for the first time if Steve and Bucky could communicate. Steve held his hands out, ask if he were asking a question. Buck held up charlotte’s hand, which cause Charlotte to go beet red. Steve stopped and looked at Bucky, bending over slightly, as if he were saying ‘Really?!’. Bucky nodded. 

“It’s only tentatively at the moment..” Charlotte piped up before watching as Steve walked over and clapped Bucky on the back. Charlotte smiled, Steve was congratulating him. Charlotte kept the smile plastered on her face as she went to go sit down at the end of the little stage in the exhibit hall, grinning wide as one of the commandos gave you a thumbs up. You watched and Bucky and his friend shared a hug, writing a conversation back and forth on the whiteboard. 

Eventually, Bucky came and sat down next to her, taking her hand in his and looking pointedly at the ring. He looked back up at her and pressed his face against her jaw, causing Charlotte to giggle.  
“Come here.” She said, pulling him by his tie to face him properly. She placed a kiss to his face, where she assumed his lip would be. She felt Bucky’s hand on her back, his face pressing back into hers. He was trying to kiss her back. Charlotte pulled her face back, to get a good look at Bucky’s. Still nothing, no emotion. She sighed, slumped over in her seat. Bucky leaned forward to press another ‘kiss’ to her cheek. 

‘We just have to get used to this’ his board had said. 

 

Charlotte opened her eyes the following day, her mind refreshing her on what had happened that night. She was engaged, in a sense. Her heart ached for Bucky. She missed him, though she knew that he was still there, it just wasn’t him. Her cat was clawing at the door, meowing loudly. Charlotte slowly stood up, feeling her mind in a stupor. Slowly she picked herself up, draping her legs over the bed. Her mind listed out the things she needed to do. Things like restock the fridge with food, clean something, figure out things for work. Charlotte sighed, scooping Dusty up into her arms. 

“What am I going to do?” She said, absentmindedly to her cat. He meowed in reply. 

Her walk to the grocery store was uneventful, though she constantly stared at her ring. The gem on the band seemed to glow, it was beautiful. The entire time she was out, she stared at the gem. Thinking of Bucky the entire time helped. On her way back, an arm full of groceries, she glanced over towards the museum, her heart dropping all over again. She thought was finally over this, the fear. The trucks were back, pressed up against the building she called her second home. Charlotte almost dropped the groceries she carried as she began to speed walk towards the steps of the museum. Her feet felt heavy. 

“No...no, no , no please no..” She whispered, setting her groceries down on a step and rushing forward towards the glass museum entrance door. One of the doors had been shattered and covered in a plastic sheet. Charlotte’s face must have been a flurry of emotions, confusion and fear. Someone approached the door from the other side, that same old lady. Charlotte felt a little bad now, for getting mad at her. The woman opened up the door and smiled, before looking a little sorry herself. 

“I’m afraid the museum is closed for the day, my dear, we’ll be open tomorrow morning though.” She said, sweetly. Charlotte just looked at her, before looking at the shattered door. 

“What..what happened?” She managed to get out. The woman looked at the door before ‘tsk’ing. 

“Somebody broke in last night, took one of the costumes I’m afraid.” Charlotte gasped softly. The old woman put a hand on Charlotte’s arm. 

“Don’t you worry though, The captain america exhibit is being refreshed, bringing some of the older parts of it back.” She said, before slipping back inside with a wave. Charlotte felt tears slip from her eyes, except this time she wasn’t crying to mourn or out of fear, this time it was tears of hope. 

 

Charlotte practically shook when she entered her apartment, setting the groceries away carefully and leaning on the counter. Her mind race, her hands couldn’t sit still. He was back. Was he back? She didn’t know. Charlotte’s mind couldn’t form coherent thoughts. Her cat was weaving in between her legs, meowing for attention or food, she couldn’t tell what. Charlotte glanced over to her cat’s dish in her dazed thoughts. Untouched. She groaned. 

“You have food, go eat it.” Charlotte said to Dusty, scooping him up and plopping him in front of his dish. The cat just turned around and started weaving through her legs again. Charlotte sighed and tiptoed to her room, trying not to fall over the cat. He jumped up onto her bed and flopped down, mostly just wanting to spend time with her. Charlotte glanced over to him and began rifling through her closet. 

“What do I wear to see my boyfriend…” She paused. “Fiancé’s face for the first time in a week or so.” She asked her cat, as if he could reply back to her. Charlotte settled on a flowery blouse that hung around her shoulders and some jeans, sticking her shoes to her normal red Chuck-T’s. She fixed her hair somewhat, made herself look presentable. Charlotte knew in her heart that Bucky wouldn’t care what she was wearing but damn it, she wanted to feel pretty again. Her ring on her finger seemed to glow brighter in the sun, and only complimented her outfit. 

Staring at the ring on her finger, she paused. She was never going to be married. Charlotte knew that, didn’t she? There were no laws or anything about marrying technically inanimate objects, were there? She glanced at the watch, giddy with excitement that it was time to leave. 

 

If everyone in the train could sense her excitement, they didn’t show it. Charlotte practically bounced in her seat as she waited for her stop to arrive. Practically shoved a little old lady out of the way so she could get closer and closer to the museum steps. The door that was normally stuck open a jar was closed tightly, a momentary dip in Charlotte’s heart causing her to skid to a stop. Carefully, she went to the door and gave it a tug. Then a push. Locked. Charlotte pushed and shoved on the door again, making an audible noise. 

“Curls, is that you?” A very clear british voice echoed from the other side of the door. Charlotte took a moment to register that it was Falsworth, not a normally talkative member of the commandos to her. 

“Y-yes, it’s me, Charlotte.” She called through the door. The door pushed open with a snap, and Indeed, in full uniform, was a very realistic looking Falsworth. He smiled, something rarer for him. 

“It’s good to see you, ma’am.” He said, giving her space to get inside. Charlotte nodded, her face lifting into an expression that Falsworth could read. He knew what she was going to ask. 

“He’s in the exhibit hall, waiting for you.” He said with a chuckle, clicking the door shut. Charlotte nearly bolted for the Captain America exhibit. As with anything, wishes seemed to come with a price. Charlotte wished to have her real Bucky back, and there had to be a fee with that. Steve wasn’t there. His costume gone, the only sign he was ever here was the blurbs of information on him around the exhibit. 

Charlotte saw Bucky before he saw her. He was staring sadly at the spot where Steve should be. But it was him. In all his actual realistic human glory. His hair was there, a little bit of scruff that was always on his face was there. His eyes.. His beautiful, blue eyes. They were there. His lips. Charlotte wanted to kiss them. She dropped her bag to the floor with a loud thud, as if shocked to see him, which she was in a way. Bucky’s head snapped to the noise, along with the other commandos. Dugan was the first to smile, Bucky just stared. 

“Doll?” He said, sounding surprised. The water works started, Charlotte immediately tearing up with tears of joy. She started walking towards him before breaking out into a sprint, Bucky doing the same. 

Them crashing into each other should have hurt, but it didn’t. Bucky scooped her up, spinning her around as Charlotte attached her hands to his hair. She remembered vaguely that they must have looked like something out of the notebook. 

“Oh my god…” Was as she said, as grasped his face in her hands. Bucky set her down gently, bending over a bit so he had her hands around her waist. 

“It’s so good to finally talk to you again, doll.” He grinned, his brilliant white teeth flashing. Charlotte practically moaned at the sound his voice, having missed it so much. 

“God I missed your voice..” She grinned, running her hands along his face. He was warm again. She felt the stubble scratch against her fingers. Bucky leaned into her touch. 

“I’m not going to lie though..” Charlotte started, causing Bucky to raise his eyebrow. She missed that too.  
“The..faceless version of you.. Did kind of freak me out..” She said, breaking into a smile. Bucky grinned and let out a single laugh, before ducking down and pressing his lips fully to hers. Charlotte felt her eyes flutter and close, missing the taste and feel of his lips so much. Bucky broke the kiss off suddenly, much too soon for Charlotte’s taste. He reached down for her hand and slid the ring off her finger, closing his hand around it. Charlotte furrowed her brows in confusion. 

“Cold feet already?” She asked, a bit of worry in her voice. Bucky shook his head and bent down, balanced on one knee.  
“I wanted to do this properly, since I couldn’t the first time.” He said with a smile, before taking a deep breath. 

“Okay.. here it goes. Will you marry me?”


	9. chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You guys thought this was abounded? Nah nah nah, I just had.. several mental breakdowns, stress issues, work, classes, a list of stuff. So, I'm sorry it's such a short chapter.  
> Class is ending soon though so that should free up some time for writing, though when the new Wow expansion hits, It'll just be dedicating to that.   
> If the drought between chapters is too much to bear, go follow me on tumbler! http://dreamingofbuckybarnes.tumblr.com  
> I'll be posting more little dribbles and fics up there too!   
> Keep in mind this chapter is unbeta'd so ignore the mistakes!

Charlotte had a nightmare. She very rarely got those, but something had triggered a sweat inducing hell in her mind. Everything in the dream had started off somewhat normal, though Charlotte instantly knew it was a dream when Bucky was with her outside of the museum. It was a beautiful sunny day, the air had a cool breeze running through it. The two were sitting outside, sitting on a baby blue blanket with some sandwiches. They were at a park, overlooking a fast flowing river, several birds chirping in the background. Charlotte was looking at the river, watching the sun bounce off the ripples and waves. It was calm, peaceful, quiet. Bucky was sitting next to her, his hand over top of hers, his thumb tracing her fingers lightly. 

“What are you thinking about?” He asked, causing charlotte to look over. She grinned at him, shrugging. Her attention turned back to the river, watching as the river got increasingly faster. Charlotte furrowed her eyebrows, watching as dark and nasty looking rain clouds rolled in over head. Charlotte slowly turned her head to Bucky, a look of fear spreading across her face before a scream escaped her lips. Bucky wasn’t Bucky. In his place stood that awful faceless mannequin, his hand roaming over his own face as if he too didn’t understand what was happening. Charlotte scooted backwards, out of fear, her heart racing. She wasn’t watching where she was scooting off too, all she could see was Bucky’s hand reaching out to hers, reaching for her. It was too late to reach back, as she felt her feet lose their footing on the grass and slip off the edge of the river bank. Her body jolted awake, a shriek escaping her lips as she was suddenly awake in the museum, nowhere near a river, and nowhere near faceless mannequins. 

Bucky, who was sitting a few feet away and playing chess with one of the other commandos, was the first to get up. He practically sprinted towards where Charlotte was napping, skidding to the floor and gently putting his hands on her. His eyes filled to the brim with worry.   
“Sweetheart? Doll? Are you okay?” He said, running a hand up her arm. Charlotte’s breathing was heavy, sweat dripping down her face. She jumped when Bucky touched her, which only made Bucky more worried. She sat up, running a hand over her face. 

“Yeah..yeah..just.. A bad dream.” Charlotte said, pulling her hair out of her face. Bucky moved so he was sitting next to her. Charlotte felt heavy and sluggish after her nap, leaning into Bucky’s side as he nestled next to her.   
“Do you want to talk about it?” He asked, softly. He knew the pain of nightmares, even if he wasn’t ‘real’. Charlotte shook her head. Bucky kissed the top of her head softly, looking up to the windows that sat on the very top of the walls. He furrowed his eyebrows, looking over to the other commandos. 

“Hey Dum-Dum? What time is it?” He called over. Dugan moved his sleeve up to look at his watch, his eyes bulging out. 

“Museum should have been open ten minutes ago.” He said looking around. The others looked around, confusion sweeping the room. Charlotte shared the confusion, slowly standing up, Bucky doing the same. Charlotte started to walk towards the lobby, leaving the others to wonder what was going on. Charlotte tilted her head, seeing neon yellow papers taped to the lobby doors. Distantly, she could hear the natural sounds of the animals in the distance. A bear gave a moaning grumble, the hair raising hiss of that stupid mountain lion echoed in reply. The sounds of animals trapped behind glass and their struggles to break free sounded like nails on a chalkboard. Charlotte ripped one of the papers off the door, eyes scanning it. 

June 15th 2012- Closed for vacation

“Oh.” Charlotte said, to herself, looking out of the lobby. No one on the street seemed to notice her inside the closed building. She stared out, watching in the distance as the sun had fully risen but still casted that orange glow in the museum lobby. Totem poles became bigger in the morning air it seemed. Charlotte realized that this must be the exhibits first time seeing the sun, for those who had access to the lobby anyways. Charlotte did her best to put the paper back up on the door, hearing footsteps coming up behind her. 

“Doll?” Bucky’s voice faltered, she realized he hadn’t been in the Lobby in a while, and certainly not while the sun was up. Charlotte turned her head, grinning as Bucky walked towards her. He wasn’t looking at her, instead distracted by the rays of light shining into the lobby. 

“Damn.” Was all he said as he looked around, as if he was seeing the place for the first time. “Been a while without sunshine..” He murmured. Charlotte walked closer to him, looking up at the ceiling the same as he did. Bucky looked down, kissing the top of her head.   
“Guess that means I get to stay awake all day.” He said, looking back around. Charlotte nodded.   
“We’ve never had a full day together.” Charlotte remarked, causing Bucky to snap his head back to her. 

“You’re staying?” He sounded like a child having just been told he’s going out for ice cream. Charlotte giggled and nodded.   
“Of course, why would I leave?” Bucky just smiled, wrapping his arms tightly around her and practically dragging her back to the exhibit. It was the first time Charlotte had seen Bucky really honest to god smile since Steve left. 

With so much time left in the day, Bucky and Charlotte weren’t sure what to do. Beyond the normal things the museum offered, they struggled to find something to entertain themselves until Bucky went back to ‘sleep’. Charlotte had stumbled upon the gift shop, a section that she was shocked she hadn’t found earlier. The normal merchandise littered the shelves, stuffed animals and shirts with the museums name on them. On the shelves in the middle of the little shop, was all Captain America toys and shirts and souvenirs. Bucky just stared silently at them, shooting glares at the little plush bears dressed up as the other commandos. Charlotte made note to buy one of the Bucky bears later on. A pang shot through her chest. She would have to buy one of those bears to keep in her house, because she couldn’t bring the real one home. She got real quiet after that thought, something Bucky picked up on. He slipped his hand through hers, squeezing it lightly and tugging her into his side.   
“Penny for your thoughts?” He said, walking with her in the empty halls of the museum. Charlotte gave him an odd look.   
“I’ve never heard you say that before.” She said, laughing. Bucky just laughed as well.   
“I’m from a different time, doll.” He laughed, glancing at a case that had old pottery in it. Charlotte grinned, looking ahead of her. The silence that followed was..tense. Something that hadn’t happened in a while. Charlotte finally broke it, the question having been on her mind for a while.   
“How are we going to do this?” Her voice was small, scared of the answer. Bucky looked down, as they turned into the now empty wooded forest section. It was much cooler here, and the smell of moss and dirt filled the room.   
“What do you mean?” Bucky’s voice had a hint of worry to it. Charlotte stopped, taking a few steps to sit over on the nearest bench. Bucky stood in front of her, kneeling down on his knees to get to her eye level.   
“I mean-“ She paused, taking a deep breath in. “I mean..this whole.. marriage thing. Are we doing this too quickly? How’s it going to work? How could it ever work? How are we-“ She was cut off, Bucky leaning forward and stopping her thoughts with a kiss.   
“You worry too much about it, we’ll make it work.” He said, pulling back. Charlotte furrowed her eyebrows.   
“Will we though? Buck, you can’t come home with me..” She said, sadness filling her voice now. Bucky sat back on his heels. He didn’t know what exactly to say to that. Charlotte continued on.   
“You can’t.. leave this place. You aren’t..real, Buck.” Bucky’s face physically fell. He had heard the phrase before, but almost mentally didn’t believe it. How was he not real? He breathed, felt pain, blood pumped through his veins. The one person he loved more than anything just didn’t believe it.   
“Doll..I..” He still didn’t know how to form what he wanted to say. Charlotte knew that those words hurt, he just wasn’t understanding it. He stood up, straightening up to his full height. He ran a hand through his hair. Charlotte lowered her eyes.   
“I love you, I do, it’s just…how do we live like this? What if I have to move? What if I have to leave suddenly? What if…” Bucky finally stopped and looked at her, his gaze turning from hurt to baffled.   
“Why all the what ifs? If you love me then isn’t that enough?” He said, his eyes getting shinier, wetter. Charlotte stood up too, though she didn’t look all that intimidating being so short. Bucky had to look down at her.   
“Bucky, please, you have to look at this realistically.” She said, her voice small. Bucky shook his head, giving a shocked laugh.   
“Doll, You’re forgetting that I’ve seen people go through this. I’ve seen people affected by this. I don’t want that. “ He pleaded, his voice cracking on ‘affected’. Charlotte sat back down on her bench while Bucky continued.   
“Back in the war, I saw families and married couples ripped apart by just.. tragedy. Couples just as much in love as we are could survive being separated by war….so why can’t we survive this?” His voice was so soft. Charlotte felt tears prick at her eyes. It dawned on her that Bucky wasn’t worried because he had seen this before. She hadn’t.   
“Bucky…” She attempted to come up with a rebuttal, a way of trying to get her thoughts and fears across. Bucky just waved his hand.   
“Do you want to get married anymore?” He asked, bluntly. Charlotte stopped, a bit shocked and taken back.   
“I-I do, but..”   
“There shouldn’t be a but there.” Bucky snapped. Charlotte felt herself get angrier.   
“James, You know how to deal with this. You know people who dealt with this. I don’t. I don’t know anything on how to get through this. What am I supposed to do? Move into the janitors closet here? Bucky.. I love you more than anything, but this isn’t a normal situation.” She stood up again, looking up at him. Bucky didn’t have much of a response.   
“You don’t want to get married.”   
“I just said I do! Bucky.. you. Aren’t. Real. You’re a mannequin. When the museum is open, You are made of fiberglass and an outfit from world war two. The real James Buchanan Barnes is dead.” She stopped, realizing what she had just said. Her own words had stung herself, to the point of tears rolling down her cheeks. To the point where Bucky had tears rolling down his own cheeks. Charlotte felt awful immediately, wishing she could take her words back. Bucky’s face turned from hurt beyond repair, to angry.   
“Get out.” He mumbled, turning away. He walked towards the little sign that held info on the diorama, as if to distract himself. Charlotte took a step forward.   
“Bucky..”   
“Just. Get out.” He snapped, holding a choked cry in. Charlotte felt numb and scared. What had she just done. Slowly she turned, her feet moving on their own accord. She looked back at the man she loved, before turning back to go collect her things. The commandos hadn’t heard their fight, no doubt that Bucky would tell them later. Silently, she grabbed her coat and bag and walked back to the fire exit. Slipping out silently into the warm air and walking down the stairs. It was her fault. It was all her fault. She knew that. 

The ride home was longer than normal, the entire time it took everything she had to not break out into tears on the bus or train. She was proud of herself, she managed to keep herself together until she got inside her apartment. Dusty was there to greet her, only to greet his owner that was now sobbing wildly. He meowed loudly, to distract her from her problems and to instead feed him. Charlotte’s make up was running, her face blotchy and red as she managed to feed her cat.   
Her entire world was just…gone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this whooole chapter is deducted to the ever wonderful and supportive and amazing Gen over at hootyhoobuckaroo.tumblr.com   
> She's been there for me for like legit everything and I cannot thank her enough for all the support.  
> This makes it sound like this is the last chapter, I promise you it's not.


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